The crowd, which skews on the older end of Gen Z, gives natural-wine natty: mustaches and dad caps, ironic T-shirts (Barefoot Contessa), band totes (The National), dogs in striped sweaters, a flutter of butterfly hand tattoos. It could be Bushwick, but it’s Balboa Street, and Rampant owners Charlie O’Leary and Jack Pain, who live in the neighborhood, fit right in themselves.

On top of a carefully curated selection of bottles, the duo offer 16 natural wines (i.e., “clean and not flawed”) by the glass — specifically those they hope will convert the haters. “People say natural wine is funky, cloudy, and tastes like kombucha,” says O’Leary, who admits that “there is an ocean of horrible natural wine out there.”

But this is not the case with the Albariño — nor, they hope, a new orange wine that O’Leary describes as “approachable, delicious, complex” from Kelley Fox, a female producer based in Oregon. Soon they’ll have in SF-based Isabella Morano to do a tasting of her Isa Wines in person. The little food menu has wine-bar go-tos like bresaola and tinned fish, but also hummus made by the woman who owns Al-Masri, the longtime Egyptian and belly dancing restaurant down the street.

Just a couple of blocks up, there’s more natural wine to be had at Slake, a year-old shop that specializes in clean drinking — “frankly, an exhausting conversation, but it’s also an important one,” says owner Daniel Lovett. Lovett did his time working everywhere from Nopa to Saison before starting a family and wanting to ditch the restaurant grind. Natural wine, he says, isn’t just a millennial affectation. “It’s about drinking the way we’ve learned to eat here in the Bay. Keep it clean and small and local.” 

SAN FRANCISCO – San Francisco law enforcement and city leaders are gearing up for a big month ahead and are warning people to be on alert for scammers as the city prepares to host Lunar New Year celebrations and the NBA All Stars Game.

San Francisco city leaders say the city is preparing for two major events, Lunar New Year and the NBA All Stars Game, both set to take place on the third weekend of February. 

The city has just hosted the mayoral inauguration, and the J.P. Morgan healthcare conference, both of which city leaders say were safe and secure. 

“We have to have a successful J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference,” said Mayor Daniel Lurie. “We have to have a successful Lunar New Year celebration, and a successful NBA All Stars Game. We are getting the word out that San Francisco is again open for business.”

Lunar New Year and the All Stars Game are both expected to draw tens of thousands to the city. San Francisco Police Chief Bill Scott said San Francisco is ready to show the world it is ready to host large-scale events. 

“Having the Lunar New Year, Chinese New Year parade and the NBA All Stars on the same weekend; that’s going to be a big lift for us,” said Scott. “But, we are prepared for it. We’ve been preparing for this for quite some time.”

Lurie also acknowledged that safety for big events like Lunar New Year and the all-stars game isn’t just about keeping the event physically safe, it’s also about making people feel safe. 

He said that means fully staffing law enforcement and making sure those officers are visible, and doing a better job of making the city presentable, everything from cleaning the streets to getting rid of graffiti.

City leaders are warning that some are already looking to take advantage of the celebrations, and have recently scammed close to $375,000 in cash and valuables from victims in San Francisco. 

Community leaders are warning about a surge in blessing scams, where criminals trick the victims into placing cash or valuables into a bag and then switch the bag leaving the victim with nothing. 

“I’m actually very angry whenever I hear about these blessing scams because these scammers are really, really targeting the most vulnerable members in our community,” said Anni Chung from Self Help for the Elderly.

San Francisco police said they’re warning the Chinese-speaking community in particular to be on the alert going into the Lunar New Year celebrations and asking anyone approached by scammers to contact the police. 

“If you are walking alone, and you are approached by somebody that’s approaching you offering some fortune or good fortune by way of a prayer or a scam, that’s probably going to be a scam,” said Scott. “Stay away from them. Call us, call the police. Report what you see.”

In the last year, admissions to substance use residential treatment admissions have increased 35%, and both methadone starts and buprenorphine prescriptions are up 39% and 52%, respectively, in 2024 compared with 2023, according to the Department of Public Health.

More issues arose when San Francisco had to nearly close its largest public hospital, Laguna Honda, after on-site overdoses triggered inspections that the facility failed to pass. City leaders, including those in Washington, D.C., like Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi, rallied alongside Colfax to get the hospital, which has since been recertified, back on track.

“Dr. Colfax is an extraordinary public health leader,” Pelosi said in a statement. “From our city’s COVID response, to saving Laguna Honda hospital, to expanding primary care and treatment for substance use disorders, Dr. Colfax has led with a data driven, community-centered focus that benefits all San Franciscans.”

Despite those efforts, San Franciscans continued to see tragedy in their streets stemming from the overdose epidemic, though there were roughly 20% fewer overdose deaths last year than in 2023.

In November, voters elected Lurie after he campaigned on a message to bring change and accountability to City Hall. Now in office, Lurie has started releasing plans for how the city can more quickly set up emergency shelters and behavioral health beds.

So far, that’s involved asking the Board of Supervisors to remove certain bureaucratic requirements to speed up city contracts and permitting, and to waive rules around accepting private donations for services directly responding to overdoses, drug dealing and homelessness.

“We have accomplished much in the past six years, and there is no doubt that the dedicated, hard-working and compassionate staff at DPH will continue to deliver for San Francisco,” Colfax said.